Below our vendor reviews from our wedding 08/29/09. We splurged on the reception but saved with the videographer, photographer and baker. I was not willing to sacrifice quality....but I also knew we couldn't splurge on every aspect of the wedding. I spent tons of time researching vendors and the knot was a huge help to me. Please e-mail me at tmwedding2008@yahoo.com with any questions. Happy wedding planning! Ceremony: The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. East Ninth and St. Clair Grade: A We are parishoners--everything went smoothly and the church is absolutely gorgeous. They have rules regarding weddings of non-parishoners, check out the website. Reception: Severence Hall Grade A+++++++ Absolutely exquitsite location to have a reception. Erin, the event coordinator was great! Her staff made sure everything was taken care of. I did not need a separate wedding coordinator. Guests are still raving about the event. Weddings are held on Saturdays in the summer. when the orchestra is playing at Blossom. This was a splurge. Sammy's: Grade A Little annoyances during the planning process kept me from giving them a A+. However, everything was perfect during the reception. The meal was the best I ever had at a wedding and guests are still commenting on how fantastatic the meal tasted. Sammy's is the only caterer allowed at Severence. This was a splurge. Florist: Heather Thomas of Heatherlily Grade:A+ The flowers were beautiful. My bouquet of orchids was stunning along with orchids for all the bouts. Bridesmaids bouquets were orchids and roses. Huge urns were used in the church and then taken to Severence. The centerpieces were large and lasted for a week after the wedding. Heather is a great person to work with. She has great vision and gave me a very detailed proposal. Plus she is willing to make adjustments to work with a specific budget. DJ: Scott E. Jones (Jerry Bruno Productions) Grade: A+ Scott is one of the best DJs in the city. He has a great personality! He kept the party lively and managed the entire evening. Check out his blog for wedding tips and pictures from various wedding. A1-Limo: (Vintage Rolls Royce) Grade:A+ Arrived on time. No issues. The driver was extremely helpful and courteous. Beautiful Rolls Royce....the only one in the state (I think) Baker: Mary Pisanlli: Grade A+ Mary has been baking wedding cakes for many years. Her quality and attention to detail is amazing!! Check out her website. (
www.weddingcakedesigner.com) She bakes them out of her home and is very reasonable. Previously she was a pastry chef for hotels. Our coconut cake was awesome with a mild pineapple buttercream!! We searched multiple bakeries until we tried Mary's cakes. Photography: Final grade: Pending Liz Haas Photography Liz is so sweet. Her prices were amazing and she is so easy to work with. We can't wait to get our albmum..plus all pictures are on disc with the rights..so that they can be printed anywhere. Liz and Maggie (her assistant) took an insane amount of pictures. They stayed through almost the entire event and were a joy to work with!! I've seen a few pictures and am delighted so far. Videography: Final grade: Pending Leahy & Leahy Video 216-244-5058 Mike and Debbie are a husband and wife team who work out of there home. They stayed throughout the entire event and were very easy to work with. They seemed to get along well with the photographer. Very unobtrusive....during the reception I forgot they were still there. I also heard from my parents that they did a few interviews of the guests. Make-up: Kerry Rhitar Final grade: Pending pictures
www.alleyesonyouonline.com Make-up stayed throughout the entire day. Kerry will come to your home or hotel. Kerry requires 3 people to have make-up done. She was very good at listening to what I wanted. She used individual fake eyelashes were phenomenal and much better than the strands. Hair: Shannon at John Roberts (Mayfield Heights) Grade: A++++ Prices were very reasonable and hair trial is included for free. My sister and I went to the salon to have our hair done. Shannon did a fantastic job. She listened to me regarding what I wanted and the pictures that I brought her. She is very patient. People raved about my hair..she did a fantastic job!! Rehearsal Dinner: CHAMPPS restaurant (Valley View) Grade: A+ We wanted a laid back place and were going to have children there. CHAMMPS was great. We had a separate room for no extra charge. My mom dropped off a cake earlier in the day. They refrigerated it and let us serve it with no extra charge. We had 30 people and everyone was able to order off the menu. Place card Calligraphy: Jessica Grade A+ (
www.pennedandpretty.com) I really wanted calligraphy but did not want to spend a lot. Jessica did a great job. I sent her the placecards which I had purchased. She completed the job quickly and the design was very cute. This was the cheapest calligraphy I could find anywhere and looked great. Plus she lives in Ohio and shipping was minimal. Invites: Karen Mazala (
www.invitationsandmorebykaren.com). Karen sells invites from her home office. She is very easy to work with. We spent a few hours looking through all of the choices. Karen is great in helping you find an invitation that fits your personal style. She offers discounts on invitations and includes free computerized calligraphy (so that you don't have to address them!!). She has a wide range of invitations from all of the major manufactures. Service was great. The computerized calligraphy was great and saved me a ton of money and time. Wedding Dress: Pat Catan's (Couture Room) Grade: A+ My experience was great!! I went to many stores and finally found the one at Pat Catan's! Alterations are included with Couture dresses and Olga did a stellar job! No complaints whatsoever. They did try to sell me bridal jewelry; however, I found better quality jewelry (anda classic style which I'm more likely to wear again) at the swarovski store (Beachwood mall) Tuxes: American Commodore; Grade B+ Multiple groomsmen and the dads had no problems getting there tuxes. The best man was from out of town and needed a different pant size. The switch was done easily since the warehouse is adjacent to the Mayfield store. However, they had the wrong vest for the groom. It was an easy switch...but still a mistake. Also there were snags on the groom's and best man's ties so we had to exchange them when we picked them up. Cost was very reasonable. Bridesmaid Dress: Macy's. I had one bridesmaid and she picked her own dress. Flower girl Dresses: Grade: A Dillard's. The cutest dresses that I could find anywhere and the prices were much better than any "bridal" store. Plus no alterations needed. Prewedding mani/pedi Anthony Vince Nail Salon: Grade C I rarely get mani's or pedi's. The experience was ok. I was expecting a relaxing environment but felt hurried. I brought my own polish....I looked through what they offered, and wasn't happy with the OPI selection. Therefore, the nail tech used my polish. The pedi lasted a long time...the mani not so much.